I have had 3 attempts on CAT, and all the way through, I have been hearing that the format of CAT is “Engineer- friendly”. After trying to defend the argument of many occasions on behalf of non- Engineers, I wonder who minted this term. This is a crazy exam to clear, and a lot of people do not make it and everyone looks out for reasons, but is this a fair reason? I am a CA, and had Maths as my optional in 11th & 12th, but I do not find anything in the syllabus from those two years, it is all we did till 10th. A few topics like functions do seem a little alien but I wonder if it is something that cannot be covered up in months of preparation that one puts in. Even if one cant, a couple of topics cannot be a reason for the non- engineers to lag (unless you get 10/30 quant questions on topics like functions).
As far as the number of engineers making it to the top schools is concerned, there are too many appearing for it as well. For them, it seems like a norm to take it, irrespective of if you really want to do MBA or not. So, there should be no wonders if a larger number of engineers end up B-schools.
So my fellow non- engineers. stop sympathising with yourself, and get to work. We are equally good to make it through.
However, I do not think of the diversity marks as unjustified. Mutual learning is an important part of the education, and there is a restricted limit to what one can learn from their own fraternity. People who think differently, and have different backgrounds can have much more to share. It might seem unfair , but not unjustified, It is rather essential! After all the reason we all rush after these B-schools is the experience they impart us with (besides bulky pay packages), and that experience is definitely enriched by diversity.
However, my aim of writing this is not to justify diversity marks, but to tell my fellow- non-engineers that there is nothing engineer friendly in CAT. So, take out the Myth that Engineers have any unfair edge, and face the reality.